The Illegal Plant Trade Coalition (IPTC) is a global alliance of botanic gardens and other partners for combined action to address, understand and mitigate the Illegal Plant Trade (IPT).  

Illegal plant trade is a growing yet often overlooked crisis. Just like the trafficking of ivory or rhino horn, rare and endangered plants—such as succulents, orchids, and cycads—are being poached at alarming rates to meet demand from unaware plant purchasers, collectors who are aware of plant poaching and other ornamental and medicinal markets. 

The Coalition encourages everyone in the chain of sale from harvesting to end consumer of plants to Think Twice, Trade Right.  

Its mission is to stop species extinction from illegal wildlife trade, by   protecting threatened plant species, support behavioural change actions, promote sustainable alternatives through propagation and, verified vendors and sale platforms, and reduce plant poaching and habitat destruction in source countries. For more information see Background and Resources.  

Creating a Global Movement

BGCI in partnership with the Commission on Education and Communication of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN CEC) has developed a global outreach campaign that will tackle the illegal plant trade. Whilst BGCI, with its many global partners and technical allies, brings the expertise and on-the-ground experience with working with plants, IUCN’s CEC is providing the process guidelines in designing an effective behavioural change campaign.  

We aspire to create an “evergreen” campaign that will inspire an increased focus on reducing the illegal trade in plants. Building on the robust network associated with BGCI, the coalition is actively seeking partners from all sectors to support this important work. With an aim to support and empower BGCI members and the wider conservation community, BGCI will utilise a communications toolkit to leverage our collective knowledge and expertise to reverse the threat of extinction facing plants. 

Our outreach through BGCI

Our aims

What we do: 

• Public Awareness Campaigns – We work on educating consumers about the impacts of buying wild-collected plants and promoting responsible sourcing through are botanical garden members and their garden visitors.
• Capacity Building – Training conservationist, garden staff, visitors and communities in biodiversity hotspots for increased awareness of the IPT, propagation and responsible plant purchasing. 
• Research & Data Collection – Through funded projects we gather information on plant, wild plant populations, community perceptions on plant harvesting and protection, and consumer demand to inform conservation efforts.
• Policy & Advocacy – We work with botanical gardens and their networks which include governmental departments, NGOs, and regulatory bodies (e.g., CITES), for policy dialogues concerning illegal plant harvesting and trade.
• Community Engagement – We work to empower local communities with alternative livelihoods, such as legal propagation and sustainable trade, to reduce reliance on illegal harvesting.  

See also our Projects & Products page.